Benefits of Fasting Until Noon
Following are the benefits of starting your fast with a morning meal:-
1) Fasting until noon maintains good health in general. It strengthens eyesight, sharpens memory, increases physical strength, and stimulates brain activities.
2) If you eat an early breakfast before fasting, it is easy to maintain this habit for life because by doing so you will feel lightness in your stomach during fasting time after taking the morning meal which will make breaking the fast also comfortable. This way you can easily adapt fasting as part of your daily routine without any difficulty or inconvenience.
Thus it becomes easy to lead a healthy life free from many common diseases that have become rampant nowadays due to irregular eating habits involving heavy meals at odd times of day e.g. dinner or late-night snacks etc.
3) Early morning breakfast before fasting strengthens the mind, improves awareness of Allah (SWT), and generates love for Him in human hearts. This becomes evident from the fact that most people who observe fasting regularly get up early in the morning to take their pre-dawn meal before beginning a day of fasting.
4) It is very good for health if you break your daily fast with a cup of milk and a few dates since this will provide all nutrients required by our body after a long time of complete abstinence from food and drink during daytime hours. There are many other similar light foods that can be taken as Iftaar (breaking the fast).
5) If possible, try to take your Iftaar (breaking the fast) at least half an hour before Maghrib (sunset prayer). This will not only help you to gain more reward but also be able to perform other religious duties like optional prayers after ‘Isha (night) prayer in greater earnest.
6) It is necessary for a fasting person to eat something immediately after taking a bath following dawn prayers. When the stomach is empty, blood sugar level starts going down and it becomes very difficult to concentrate on reading or studying anything.
7) Eating dates or drinking a cup of milk just after breaking the fast provides energy required by our body for performing physical as well as mental tasks throughout the day. In fact, if your hunger pangs cause any discomfort, you can drink a cup of tea, coffee, or any other beverage as Iftaar (breaking the fast).
8) In the month of Ramazan it is mustahabb (recommended) to delay daily morning breakfast ‘Sehri’ until after Fajr prayers. This habit will help those who are fasting from taking two breaths i.e. one for Sehri and the second for Iftaar which means that they’ll be able to maintain a balance between taking food and fluid intake throughout the day till sunset/Iftar time.
9) You must break your fast immediately on arrival at home following Asr (afternoon) prayers if you have been out during the daytime. This way you will be able to break your fast while still maintaining the schedule of fasting throughout the day.
10) Try to break your daily fast with two or three dates (or any other local fruit) and a cup of milk whether you live in a hot climate or cold environment. It will provide you with energy, fluids, salt, sugar, minerals, etc. that are required by your body for continuous good health.
11) Be sure to tell others about these benefits if they should ask you about fasting after getting up at dawn for Sehri (pre-dawn meal). Actually, there is no harm in telling them about anything that is beneficial for human health but remembers not to discuss things like surgical operations because it may cause temptation in their mind which could prove harmful for their health.
12) Make it a point to drink water just before Asr (afternoon) prayers so that you can get rid of thirst, maintain balance in the amount of food and fluids taken by your body during the day, and avoid hunger pangs/stomach pain, etc.
13) It is not necessary to fast onboard an airplane even if you are traveling in Ramazan unless it causes difficulty or inconvenience which often becomes apparent after breaking your fast with dry sandwiches etc.
If there is absolutely no other choice but to eat something then it should be done because fasting while traveling (especially during air travel) is very difficult due to continuous noise, disturbance, excessive coldness or heat, etc.
14) One of the best ways of maintaining a balance between food and fluid intake is to delay Iftaar (breaking the fast) for 15 minutes after sunset i.e. Maghrib time just as it is mustahabb (recommended) to delay eating Sehri, etc.
15) A person should try his/her best to eat something before going to bed if he/she wishes not to suffer from excessive thirst or severe hunger pangs during Fajr (dawn) prayers.
16) It is makruh (reprehensible; blameworthy; disfavored; detestable; odious; abominable; not approved of by God nor Muslims) for pregnant women and those who are weak or sick to skip fasting even if their doctor tells them that fasting will have negative effects on their health. However, they are excused from fasting if the doctor insists that fasting would have a bad effect on their health.
17) It is not permissible for pregnant women and those who are sick or old to undertake any physical exercises including swimming during the hours of sunrise/daytime because it should be devoted entirely for Jumu’ah (Friday) prayers, Asr (afternoon) prayer, Maghrib (sunset) prayers, etc.
intermittent fasting rules:
1. Rule 1 is to ONLY drink water, green tea, and black coffee. Nothing else! No milk, no sweeteners, nothing but the above drinks.
2. Eat within a window of 8 hours, for example between 1 PM and 9 PM is fine, as long as you fast for at least 16 hours (for example from 10 PM one day until 12 PM the next).
3. Your first meal should be something light like some fruit or a smoothie made with yogurt or coconut milk.
4. If you are not hungry in your 8-hour eating window then do not eat anything at all until you are ready. The idea here is not to stuff yourself full of food every 2 hours out of fear of missing a meal. I would suggest you eat a light snack before the 8-hour window if it makes you feel more comfortable.
5. Don’t be too strict with yourself – one or two meals a day won’t kill you!! The benefits happen over weeks and months, not hours and days. However, if fasting does make you feel ill then by all means eat your next meal earlier than planned!
6. Try to drink as much water as possible during your fast to stay hydrated and maintain energy levels. If drinking 2 liters is difficult for you on an empty stomach then try having 2 cups of coffee without milk or cream. This will help keep hunger at bay while providing some caffeine for energy!
7. Remember that while intermittent fasting can be great, some people may not feel comfortable with it. If you are constantly thinking about food, are constantly hungry, or are constantly feeling ill then I would suggest having a full meal instead of attempting to fast. Everyone’s body is different so take your own time to figure out the best routine for yourself!
Intermittent fasting schedule:
1. This schedule assumes that you have a full 8 hours of sleep each night.
2. You can split the 16-hour fast into two – for example, have your last meal at 8 PM and then don’t eat again until 12 PM, skipping breakfast and breaking your fast at 12 PM with a light snack! For many people, this is easier to manage as it means they do not need to wake up early in order to make time for a morning meal before work or school.
3. In addition, if you find yourself feeling hungry on an empty stomach during these hours I would suggest having some black coffee without sugar as the caffeine will help increase energy levels and reduce hunger pangs!
How many calories to eat during intermittent fasting:
This is completely up to you! If intermittent fasting makes you feel very hungry then have a low-calorie snack before your fast. I would suggest that during the 16/8 hours of your fast, eat less than usual as it’s likely that your body will be trying to conserve energy assuming there are no calories coming in from food.
How often to do intermittent fasting:
I recommend doing an occasional longer fast (24+ hours) or doing daily intermittent fasting for at least 3 months before changing up your eating schedule again. Once you’ve settled into a routine with IF you can experiment with pushing the time of your first meal back further and further if this works better for you. Of course, remember that everyone is different so do what works best for you!
How long to do intermittent fasting:
Doing intermittent fasting for weight loss purposes is not really about losing weight as much as it is about the health benefits that come from calorie restriction. There are no medically proven safe or unsafe lengths of time to fast, however, I would strongly suggest not doing more than 24 hours of fasting at a time, and never ever going longer without food than your longest consecutive sleep period.
A good analogy would be marathon running. You could probably run a marathon tomorrow if you had all the gear and trained for it but this wouldn’t be safe or smart to do on a regular basis! The same goes with prolonged fasting – although some people may feel comfortable with this, others will find it detrimental to their health.